Over the past few months the Learn How to Write Songs website conducted a poll asking songwriters ‘How Do You Start Writing Songs?‘ In this poll we discover the most popular way songwriters start songs.
The poll listed several common ways songwriters begin creating a song. The purpose in conducting this poll stems from the different opinions regarding how to start songs. I was curious what was the most popular way and then share it with my readers.
Different Ways to Start Songs
There is no right or wrong way to start writing a song. Each artist has a preference. That is what is revealed here. Whether you start with music, chord or words can influence the outcome of the song. It show that there are diverse ways in which to start writing a song. The most important thing for a songwriter to consider is to just start writing.
Number One Way to Start Songs is with Lyrics
According to the survey the most popular way to start writing a song is; Writing the Lyric. The results showed that 36.5% of songwriters start writing lyrics first. This could stem from the the fact that a songwriter will have some idea or concept they want to write about. In that case it seem perfectly find to start with the lyrics.
Next Popular Way to Start Songs Is With a Chord Progression
In second place is to start writing a song using a chord progression. This one was actually a bit surprising to me. My guess would have put melody writing at second. Yet, the poll shows that 23.7% of songwriters start to write songs by creating a chord progression.
Writing a Melody is Next
The third most common way to start a song is to write a melody. The percentage of songwriters who start with the melody first is 17.8%
Everyone Have A Different Method
There is also a group of songwriters who start each song differently. They are not confined to one style of writing so their songwriting methods vary. This group makes up 15.6% of songwriter.
The last category include starting a song to a beat. Only 5.5% of songwriter start with a beat.
In the end does it matter how you start a song? In my opinion it does not. As artist we have methods and way to get our creative juices flowing. Sometimes however it can be useful to try another method when writing a song. If you write lyrics first, next time you write a song start with a melodic idea.
